Mosaic glass with female mask motif

Fused mosaic plaque: figural classical motif dramatic mask

Historical period(s)
Ptolemaic Period or Roman period, 100 BCE-100 CE
Medium
Glass
Dimensions
H: 3.1 cm (1 1/4 in)
Geography
Egypt
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1909.490
On View Location
Freer Gallery 20: A Collector’s Eye: Freer in Egypt
Classification(s)
Glass, Jewelry and Ornament
Type

Mosaic glass

Keywords
Egypt, mask, Ptolemaic Dynasty (305 - 30 BCE), Roman Period (30 BCE - 395 CE)
Provenance

To 1909
Giovanni Dattari (circa 1858-1923), Cairo, Egypt, to 1909 [1]

From 1909 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Giovanni Dattari in 1909 [2]

From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

Notes:

[1] See S.I. 189, Miscellaneous List, Egyptian Glass, pgs. 1 and 12, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. This piece is part of a collection of glass that was purchased en bloc and includes 1,388 specimens (for further purchase information, see the folder for F1909.332).

[2] See note 1.

[3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919
Giovanni Dattari (C.L. Freer source) 1858-1923

Description

Fused mosaic plaque: figural classical motif dramatic mask

Published References
  • Robert K. Liu. Roman Mosaic: Face Plaques and Beads. vol. 31, no. 5 Los Angeles, July 2008. .
  • Robert Steven Bianchi. Those Ubiquitous Glass Inlays, Part Two. vol. 5 New York. pp. 11-20.
  • Richard Ettinghausen. Ancient Glass in the Freer Gallery of Art. Washington, 1962. p. 19, fig. 39.
  • Robert Steven Bianchi. Those Ubiquitous Glass Inlays from Pharaonic Egypt: Suggestions About Their Functions and Dates. vol. 25 Corning, N.Y. pp. 29-35.
  • Susan H. Auth. Mosaic Glass Mask Plaques and the Ancient Theater. vol. 41. pp. 51-72.
  • Charis Mahnke. Alexandrinische Mosaikglaseinlagen: Die Typologie, Systematik und Herstellung von Gesichterdarstellungen in der ptolemaischen Glaskunst. Philippika Wiesbaden. no. 68, p. 121.
  • Susan H. Auth. Ancient Egyptian Glass from the Dattari Collection. vol. 118, no. 258 London, August 1983. pp. 160-163, fig. 5.
  • Marie Dominique Nenna. Les Elements d'incrustratation: une industrie egyptienne du verre. Alessandria e il mondo ellenistico-romano Rome. pp. 377-378.
Collection Area(s)
Ancient Egyptian Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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